mature age bachelor of biomedicine, low atar

[spana17]

hi everyone, i am hoping someone can give me some advice, i am 25 year old female, who finished year 12 in a rural high school in 2006. i have been working since then and have not done any university study.

my UAI i think was around 55,(i have just moved and it is packed away) but definately no more than 60.. i really didn't apply myself, turned 18 in my final year and my dad passed away so therefore school was not my number one priority.. (no excuse i know)..... either way i don't want to apply for any special circumstances or anything but i would like to study medicine, even if it takes me 10 years i would like to become a doctor eventually..

I studied English, art, legal studies, business studies and maths at school (chemistry wasn't an option being a rural school ), not that u knew what i wanted to do at 17...

i have been researching and calling around, i currently live in melbourne, i have not studied in such a long time therefor i am unsure if this is possible can anyone help ?

i have looked into a bachelor of biomedicine but chemistry is a prerequisite and my enter score is not good enough, but maybe if i do some bridging courses , redo year 12 ? go to tafe or adult college ? would this help ?

i spoke to RMIT and Latrobe who both advised to talk to the university that i would be applying to do medicine with if i was to get that far (melb uni is what they said was a good idea), and check with them, if i was to sit the STAT, and apply mature age to do bachelor of science, apply in my second year for bachelor of biomedicine and then finish that and apply for post graduate medicine ? which i'm aware doesn't guarantee me a spot

does this sound correct ?

can i do courses in chemistry and mathematics what are my options if my atar is so low and has anyone been in this situation before ? i feel so naive but i guess someone has to start somewhere, therefore im asking for someones help or advice.

also is it better to apply for the bachelor of science at the same school as i would apply for my post grad medicine ?

thanks anyone that can help me

[hobbitle]

I just read your post and now it's deleted, but I was going to reply. 

[spana17]

im so sorry i felt silly putting all that on here and thought this may be the wrong forum to post in , but here it is and thanks for replying !



hi everyone, i am hoping someone can give me some advice, i am 25 year old female, who finished year 12 in a rural high school in 2006. i have been working since then and have not done any university study.

my UAI i think was around 55,(i have just moved and it is packed away) but definately no more than 60.. i really didn't apply myself, turned 18 in my final year and my dad passed away so therefore school was not my number one priority.. (no excuse i know)..... either way i don't want to apply for any special circumstances or anything but i would like to study medicine, even if it takes me 10 years i would like to become a doctor eventually..

I studied English, art, legal studies, business studies and maths at school (chemistry wasn't an option being a rural school ), not that u knew what i wanted to do at 17...

i have been researching and calling around, i currently live in melbourne, i have not studied in such a long time therefor i am unsure if this is possible can anyone help ?

i have looked into a bachelor of biomedicine but chemistry is a prerequisite and my enter score is not good enough, but maybe if i do some bridging courses , redo year 12 ? go to tafe or adult college ? would this help ?

i spoke to RMIT and Latrobe who both advised to talk to the university that i would be applying to do medicine with if i was to get that far (melb uni is what they said was a good idea), and check with them, if i was to sit the STAT, and apply mature age to do bachelor of science, apply in my second year for bachelor of biomedicine and then finish that and apply for post graduate medicine ? which i'm aware doesn't guarantee me a spot

does this sound correct ?

can i do courses in chemistry and mathematics what are my options if my atar is so low and has anyone been in this situation before ? i feel so naive but i guess someone has to start somewhere, therefore im asking for someones help or advice.

also is it better to apply for the bachelor of science at the same school as i would apply for my post grad medicine ?

thanks anyone that can help me

[hobbitle]

Listen, from the outset, I didn't do high school in Victoria so I know sweet F-A about the system here.  So sorry I can't answer any specific questions about that.

But I am your age (26) and this year I started a B-Sci at UniMelb with the intention to do either Medicine or Biomedical Engineering.
My situation is quite different as I already had a Bachelor Degree in some faffy crap that was meaningless and easy to get into.
Biomedicine I imagine is a different story and whilst I may have gotten in based on a previous degree, I don't think you would be so lucky without some 'booster' study.

I would definitely say give a Bachelor of Science a shot rather than B Biomed.  It keeps more options open for longer; and it allows you to explore a broad range of interest.  And as far as getting into postgrad Medicine is concerned, either degree at Melbourne is as good as the other - there's a lot more stuff (GAMSAT, interview) to worry about regardless of which course you took!

Uni is quite intense if you are out of practise when it comes to studying.  I re-did Maths Methods on my own before beginning the B-Sci to refresh my memory and in my first semester I only took two subjects, to 'ease into it'.  I think these were good decisions as it's REALLY hard when you haven't studied much for a long time.

The ATAR-Notes guys might tell you otherwise but most of them are coming off the back of 12 years of school and their brains are as elastic as they will ever be ;-)
So, sorry I can't help you much with your specific questions, just a bit of advice as a mature-age woman looking for a new career as well who has done the same thing as you.

I'm sure you've seen this website: http://futurestudents.unimelb.edu.au/admissions/pathways/non-school-leaver which implies that you might have difficulty getting in via this pathway without a pass in a science at high school.  You can take any of the first year core Biology (BIOL10004 or BIOL10005), Chemistry (CHEM10007), Physics (PHYC10005) or Calculus 1 (MAST10005) subjects via UniMelb CAP Program which is an upfront fee of about $3000.  Unfortunately none of these subjects are available over summer so you will only be able to take them in 1st or 2nd semester 2014, which means you won't be able to start a course until after that. 

There may be cheaper options to make up your science prerequisite via CAE, TAFE or the like - there are links at the bottom of that URL.

Good luck mate and PM me if you need any further encouragement as an older applicant going through a big life change.  I get it!

[hobbitle]

I suppose you need to first and foremost confirm what study score you got in your Maths and English that you took in high school (and that you took Units 3/4 for both of them).  If you took units 3/4 and got 25+ in both then you only need to worry about filling the science prereqs.

[spana17]

@nicola_a

thankyou so much !

i actually studied in NSW for high school and i wish i had of at least done some kind of study after school i feel like my brain is dying without learning something!

thanks so much for your advice at least i know what i am up for, i will try CAP or even other courses to get what i need to do what i want, honestly over the last month i ahve been trawling forums and speaking to different people and all of them laughed and asked me why would i do that it would take forever... its not about the time for me, i have no children, i am motivated and willing to learn, i would like to test myself and push to myself to the best of my ability. you have been so insightful, and i am glad you replied to me i was beginning to lose any hope i could do anything else in my life!

as for the bachelor of science i will look at that first and see how i go, you are right there are so many other things i have to get through first! but i have to ask, during the bachelor of science , can i change to bachelor of biomed, (and is this something most people looking at medicine would do )  if my grades were ok ? or finish bachelor of science ? what happens after i have this degree ?

sorry for being so naive i have been trawling forums and uni sites for weeks ;$ and i feel so confused by it all!  -

thankyou again !!!!!

Anna

[spana17]

I suppose you need to first and foremost confirm what study score you got in your Maths and English that you took in high school (and that you took Units 3/4 for both of them).  If you took units 3/4 and got 25+ in both then you only need to worry about filling the science prereqs.

thanks so much, i didnt even realise , i have spoken to both Latrobe and RMIT and neither said that! to be honest i think i did get above 25!!


thankyou

[hobbitle]

Note: I am only coming at it from a UniMelb perspective because that's all I know.  There might be easier-to-get-into options at other unis.  Looking briefly at La Trobes website, it looks like their entry into Bachelor of Biomedical Science has a similar situation.  I think, regardless of the uni, you will need to do a science bridging course - probably in Chemistry, but Biology might also take your fancy.

So:
Provided you got a solid pass in your English and Maths in high school (and provided the Maths was the equivalent of Maths Methods in VIC - "2U to 4U" in NSW???), you only need to worry about filling a science prerequisite.

For B Sci, you can do any science as a prereq (Physics, Biol or Chem) but for B Biomedicine they require Chem specifically, as you know.

So if you do some kind of approved Chemistry course (CHEM10007 through CAP at UniMelb, or TAFE etc) you will be able to apply for both courses through VTAC and see what you get accepted into.

If you 'only' get accepted into Science, you can definitely apply to transfer to B Biomed for your second year if your grades are solid.  AFAIK they don't need to be sensational but anything above 65% average (no fails) will probably do it.

[hobbitle]

Sorry, I keep adding thoughts:

My main thought really is that, well, you've made this decision now, so, step by step!

Uni is going to be challenging no matter what you do, since you've been away from it for so long.
You don't need to aim for Medicine which is deemed to be the 'hardest' (arguably) unless you really know thats what you want to do.
If you know you want to do something Science-y, just concentrate on getting into an undergrad that's in the field.
It honestly doesn't matter what it is (or where).  Just get the prerequisites sorted and get in.  Once you've done a year of uni (anywhere), you'll be set on whatever direction you choose.

[simpak]

Transferring into Biomedicine from Science would be absolutely pointless.  Just take whichever accepts you, if you want Biomed preference it first but you won't be missing much if you do Science instead and it's not worth transferring.

[SocialRhubarb]

This is way off topic but:

Did anyone click on this thread, click on another tab, and then get really confused as to why they had a tab open with the title "mature age bachelor..."?

[abeybaby]

This is way off topic but:

Did anyone click on this thread, click on another tab, and then get really confused as to why they had a tab open with the title "mature age bachelor..."?

No, but you deserve an upvote for making me chuckle.

[brenden]

I can't answer too many of your questions, but I just wanted to chime in and say I have a lot of respect for you for making that decision

Re-doing high-school is an option. You could also just go for a science degree at a less reputable Uni - so it's easier to get into - and then smash your first year subjects and transfer into the course at the uni you want to graduate from.

[spana17]

Thanks so much everyone , I felt so silly asking these questions but I'm glad I did ! At least I know what some of my options are ,from what I have understood from all your great advice  I'll just focus on getting into a bachelor of science anywhere that I can , and then go from there I guess it will all be much clearer once I get used to all the jargon and pathways for this  ... Baby steps I think ! I will check my scores for my HSC and go from there it's all so scary and exciting at the same time ! So I'm glad I have some perspective now !

And thanks brencookie ! It's going to be a hard road but I'm up for the challenge and all I can do is try , then ill really know if it is worth pursuing ...

Thankyou everyone so much ! I really appreciate it !

If any other questions pop up ill be sure to come back here , and I'm sure I will have more questions ! Ha ha


Anna

[Chrissyy]

Science > Biomed as well if only for the difficulty Biomed poses even straight school leavers. First year Biology/Chem Science subjects will be challenging for you and you'll have to work hard but I am of the belief that if you want something hard enough you'll be able to do it! There's also always the option of applying to do Science at a University with less stringent entry requirements and then getting good grades (75-80+ usually for a course transfer to Melbourne - some say you can do it with less, though) and Melbourne could let you in that way!